Top-mounted vehicle racks provide a versatile platform for transporting bicycles, skis, snowboards, boats, cargo boxes, gear racks, and other items. Such racks typically include a pair of crossbars that extend side-to-side across the top of a vehicle. Each crossbar is supported on each side of the vehicle's roof by a tower, where the length of each crossbar and the distance between crossbars depend on factors such as the shape and size of the vehicle's roof. The towers supporting the rack crossbars are securely fastened to the vehicle to prevent the rack from slipping during use.
A typical top-mounted boat mount system includes two crossbars of the type described above, with supporting mounts of some type (e.g., a pair of saddles or J-shaped cradles) attached to the crossbars for supporting a boat, for example, a kayak or a canoe. After placing a boat on the mounts, the user then secures the boat to the rack by strapping it to both the cradles and the crossbars. However, placing the boat on the mounts may be cumbersome and difficult, and may result in damage to the vehicle, the boat, or injury to person(s) loading the boat.
A common method of placing a boat on a vehicle roof rack is for a user to lift the bow of the boat onto the rear mount from the rear of the car, and then to slide the boat forward. This method has the advantage of allowing the user to lift only one half of the boat at a time, but it has the disadvantage that the bow of the boat often touches the upper rear corner of the car, resulting in scratches or other damage either to the car or the boat. An additional problem with this method is that the boat may be difficult to slide on the rear mount, due to friction between the mount and the boat hull.